Portable amusement apparatus.



No. 865,584. I PATBNTED SEPT. 10, 1907. '1. A. & T. H. FULTON.

PORTABLE AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLIOATION' FILED JAN. 28.1905.

2 SHEETS-S HBET 1.

@3 3 w am No. 865,584. PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907. T. A. & T. H. FULTON.PORTABLE AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION I'ILBD JAN- 28. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. FULTON AND THOMAS H. FULTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

PORTABLE AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept, 10, 1907.

. Application filed January 28, 1905. Serial No. 243,049,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS A. FULTON and THOMAS H. FULTON, citizens ofthe United States of America, and residents of the borough of Richmond,in the city of New York, county of Richmond, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable AmusementApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a novel and useful improvement in portableapparatus for amusement purposes, the same being of the roundaboutclass, and the object thereof being to achieve simplicity ofconstruction with fewness of parts which are easily connected togetheror detached from each other so that portability of the apparatus issecured and the transportation thereof, from point to point, as well aserection and removal, is facilitated.

The invention, therefore, consists essentially in the construction,arrangement and combination of the various parts, substantially as willbe hereinafter more fully described, and then particularly pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating our invention; Figure 1 is" afront elevation of our improved amusement apparatus. Fig. 2 is aperspective plan view of the basal portion, the tower being broken awayand all the upper mechanism removed. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of theapparatus when folded together and mounted in truck form for shipment.Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of the connections of thecarsupporting cables with the central shaft near the upper end of thelatter. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the end of one of the cable-guidingand supporting arms. Fig. (3 is a detail view, in elevation, of theparts illustrated in Fig. 4.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughoutall the different figures of the drawing.

1 denotes a tower, being an upright frame of greater or less height madeof steel or other suitable metal or material, suitably braced by crossbraces 3, or otherwise, and having a suitable form and size, .it beingpreferably broader at the bottom than at the top, thus tapering frombottom to top, and in the specific example illustrated we find itconvenient to make the base consisting of a flat square piece 27, whichcan rest easily on a level surface and uphold the tower in aperpendicular position. This tower can easily be raised on end orlowered by methods familiar to persons accustomed to handling structuresof a similar kind.

Supported revolubly in suitable bearings in the tower is a verticalshaft 2, which is hollow sufficiently far from the top, so that it can,when desired, easily receive the whole of shaft 3, which shaft extendsabove the tower 1 and terminates in some ornamental tip, as l, orotherwise. The shaft 2 is rotated by means of some suitable electricalor other motor properly geared thereto and not shown in drawings, as welay no claim to the motor, the application of such a driving means to avertical shaft being common. On the shaft 2, near the upper end, is acasting 8 which is fastened thereto by means of a horizontal pin or bolt9 passing through the casting and also through the shaft 2 and the shaft3, which at the time is within shaft 2. Casting 8 is provided with aseries of sockets 10, in which are pivoted the inner ends of the arms11, said arms projecting outwardly in a more or less inclined position,and being foldable down alongside of the tower 1 when the apparatus isdismantled and collapsed into the position for shipment, as shown inFig. 3. On the shaft 3 is a sliding sleeve 5, which is secured at thedesired point in the length of said shaft 3 by means of a pin 7 passingthrough the sleeve and also through shaft 3, all as clearly indicated inFig. 1. The sleeve 5 is preferably provided, near its upper end, orelsewhere in its length, with a groove or with a couple of collars, as6, forming a channel between them, the object thereof being to supply aplace at which the car-supporting cables, as 18, see Fig. 4, mayencircle the sleeve 5.

There may be any number of cars, carriages, or bas kets 14, having anydesign, shape and size and iiitended to carry passengers who are to ridein the amusement apparatus. These cars, when the shaft 2 rotates, followa curved path and are caused to travel at greater or less speeddepending upon the speed of revolution of the shaft 2, and the sensationto the occupants of the cars, while thus traveling through the airnoiselessly and at a high rate of speed, is pleasing and exhilarating.At the end of each car 14 is a pair of ropes or cables 15 fastened atopposite sides of the car and also to a single horizontal bar 16, one ofwhich is employed above each car 14.. Connected directly to each bar 16,near the ends thereof, 01' fastened to ropes or strands that areconnected thus directly to bar 16, are two pairs of car supportingcables or ropes, the members of which are designated 17 and 17; themembers 17 being fastened at one end of the bar 16, while the members 17are fastened at the other end. Thus each car is suspended by fourcables; one pair of cables runs to the outer end of one arm 11, whilethe other pair runs to the outer end of the next adjoining arm 11, butit will be seen that there are four cables running to the end of eacharm 1], and these cables pass over the end of the arm, in so doing beingin contact with the antifriction pulley 13 journaled in a socket 12 withwhich the end of the arm 11 is provided, or if desired the pulley 13 canbe omitted and the cables simply hung over a curved part at the end ofthe arm, either plan being used, as desired; and these cables passonward to and around the sleeve 5. It will be obvious that the fourcables 17, 17 and 17, 17 which reach the end of each of the arms 1.1 maypreserve their independence as they pass over the end of the arm or theymay be so grouped and fastened together as in effect to constitute asingle cable, as 18, as shown in Fig. 1. in Figs. 4 and G, we haveindicated the cables 18 which are really continuations of the cables 17,17, said figures being intended to indicate how the cables pass aroundthe sleeve 5, and it will be seen that by using clamps l9 fastenedsecurely to the cables near the sleeve 5, they are held, or a portion ofthem, as rings about the sleeve 5 so that thus the cables 18 on one sideof the sleeve 5 are integral with the cables i8 on the other side of thesleeve. Thus the cables which lead from one car on one side of theapparatus in effect run as substantially the same cables upward over thearm thereabove, then around the sleeve 5, then over the opposite arm anddownward to an opposite car, so that great strength is thereby gained.

The removable platform for the mechanism we have just described consistsof a broad and ample structure of knockdown parts, which can be easilyassembled or disassembled at pleasure. This platform or frameworkcomprises essentially an elongated board or surface 21, on the twoparallel longest sides of which are mounted girders 22 of any suitableshape and size, said girders 22 having at certain points thereinvertical slots 26 adapted to receive cross girders 23, similar in shapeand form to the girders 22. Thus there are two cross girders 23interlocking, when the parts are in position, with the girders 22 andfurnishing within them a square inclosure, suitable to receive therectangular base part 27 of the tower l, which part can be temporarilyconnected to the flooring 21 inside of this square inclosure by means ofbolts 35, or other suitable retaining meansv The outer end portions ofthe girders 22 and 23 are provided with inclines 24 and 25 on whichinclined floorings 29 may be laid to provide an easy ascent to ahorizontal flooring having a general circular form and consisting ofboards or floor pieces 28 made in suitable sections if preferred, andresting on the upper horizontal edges of the girders 23 and in contactwith the rails 31 which are fastened to the horizontal edges of thegirders 22; said flooring consisting furthermore of boards or surfaces30 which rest between the rails 31 on top of the girders 22 at each sideof the tower and contiguous to the inclined floorings 29 just-named; itbeing understood of course that all these parts just described ascomposing the foundation structure are easily put together or removedfrom each other. The girders 22 and 23 are of such length, as is alsothe flooring 21, that their ends rest on the ground at a suitabledistance from the axis of rotation of the central shaft 2, and thus avery broad or him tread or bearing is attained.

When the apparatus is to be dismantled and folded for shipment weutilize a portion of the platform, consisting of the parallel girders 22and bottom 2]., for a sort of flat or platform wagon on which thetower 1and other parts may be laid, as shown in Fig. 3. The tower 1 is providedwith wheels 32 on an axle at the side, which are adapted to engage therails 31 when the tower is in this horizontal position, said wheelsthereby thus facilitating the adjustment of the tower on the truck, backand forth, in order to put it into the proper position. This portion ofthe platform, consisting of girders 22 and bottom 2],, may be called thetruck or wagon, and when it is to be used as such it will be suppliedwith ordinary forward and rear trucks or wheels 33 and 34. First, ofcourse the cross girders 23 will be removed from the slots 26 and theywill be placed lengthwise on the truck alongside of the tower 1; thenagain the shaft 3 will be slid down into the hollow shaft 2, the pin 9being first taken out, and the pin 7 being removed from the sleeve 5,said sleeve can be slipped along on the shaft 3. The whole affair can beeasily collapsed or folded together in the position shown in Fig. 3. Anerection of the parts can be accomplished with just as much ease as theycan be taken down, and by making use of a portion of the base as thewagon a transfer, from point to point, will be made with littledifficulty. tling the structure the cars will be first disconnected, andtheir supporting cables removed or wound in some convenient manner.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a portable amusement apparatus, the combination with a tower, of atelescopic shaft supported rotatably therein and consisting of a lowersection and an extensible or adjustable section, arms pivotallyconnected with the lower section, means connected with the upperadjustable section for holding the arms in outward extending positions,cars supported from the arms, and means for hold ing the two sections ofthe shaft in extended relations, substantially as set forth.

2. In a portable amusement apparatus, the combination of a tower, atelescopic shaft supported revolubly therein, a casting secured to theshaft and having sockets, arms pivoted in the sockets, a sleeve on theupper portion of the shaft, and car supporting cables passingover theends of the arms and connected to the sleeve.

3. In a portable amusement apparatus, the combination with a tower, of arevoluble shaft, consisting ofna hollow section, and a second sectioninserted thereinto, a series of arms hinged to the hollow section, andcar-supporting cables passing over the ends of said arms and connectedto the upper part of the shaft.

4. The combination of a tower, a revolving shaft and car-supporting armsmounted therein, a base 27 rigidly secured to the tower, and thesupporting platform or framework. consisting of parallel girders andcross girders in ter-locking with each other and forming a centrally disposed rectangular inclosure in which the base 27 of the tower isarranged to closely fit, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a tower, revolving shaft, cars, and means forsupporting the cars so that they will re volve with the shaft, of aknockdown framework, consist ing essentially of interlocking girders,providing an inclosure for the base of the tower, and a platformsupported on said girders around the tower.

(l. The combination, in a portable amusement apparatus, of a revolvingshaft, consisting of a hollow section and a second section received intoand held in the hollow section, sockets on the outside of the hollowsection, arms pivoted in said sockets, a sleeve on the upper part of thesecond section and fastened temporarily thereto, and ca bles connectedto said sleeve and passing over the outer ends of the arms, togetherwith cars hanging on said cables.

7. In a portable amusement device, the combination of a base havingparallel girders carrying rails 31, a tower supported on the base andarranged to be let down for transportation, and wheels carried by thetower and ar ranged to run upon the rails upon the girders,substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, this 25th day of January. 1905.

THOMAS A. FULTON. THOMAS II. FULTON.

Witnesses JOHN H. HAZEL'IUX, I. HEIBERG.

In disman-

